At Angen's Middle School, a baseball field can be seen. Kia is sound-checking her microphone, and Aisha observing the Mick and Kia from the stands.
"Ready?" Kia asks.
"...Almost..." Mick fiddles around with the camera off-screen, "Done! On in 3, 2, 1..."
"Sorry for the delay folks! The same disclaimer applies here!" Kia announces.
At the stands, Aisha can be seen standing up and cheering for Kia.
"Now, then. If I recall correctly, our middle school baseball team lost against the Southtown Middle School baseball team." Kia bends towards the camera.
Aisha is still cheering Kia on and is jumping up and down.
"This is for our baseball team: 'YOU GUYS SUCK FOR LOSING TO SOME MEATHEAD MARTIAL ARTISTS!'"
Aisha stops jumping and stares at Kia.
"I mean, seriously! Such actions are a disgrace to our school!"
With an annoyed look, Aisha walks forward...
"And furthermore..."
"Aisha-chan!" Mick yells.
"Mick-sempai! Now we have to redo the take!"
"I mean Aisha-san just fell down the stands!"
Kia turns to see Aisha unconsciously lying on the base of the stands. "...Aisha-chan!" Kia runs to Aisha.
"Um..." Mick moves to the front of the camera, "We're having some technical difficulties right now!" Mick looks at the two.
At the background, Kia, in an attempt to wake her up, is shaking Aisha.
"Um...Yeah..." Mick says in an embarrassed tone then turns the camera off.
In a dark room, Akira looks around for a light switch. He finds one and flicks it on. A red light appears from the other end of the room. Due to the brightness of the light, Akira tries to block the light with his right arm. He blinks and sees a silhouette of what appears to be a human being.
"Nano mono ga anata wa…"
"Mada mada desu ka…"
"Dare anata…"
"Ore wa…"
"Anata wa…"
"ORE-SAMA WA TE—"
Adelheid stays at the training room to…well…train.
"Konprinz!" Adelheid fires a large white ball of energy to a steel training dummy. The result is the dummy's almost complete being bent backwards. Adelheid looks at the training dummy. "My normal Kinship Fire seems to have gotten stronger…"
"Sir, shall we send in training robots or continue with the training dummies?" a voice heard from the speakers asks.
"…Training robots…level eight…"
"Sir! Are you sure? Only Bernstein Rugal-sama has been able to go past level seven!"
"…Send them in, Reno! I require power to protect Rose…"
"…Sir! Training robots type-gamma 04F2 level eight!" from the speaker, Reno complies.
Almost instantaneously, a many robots, all fashioned to look like Adelheid, appear and continue to appear. "…And to attain power, I must defeat myself!" Adelheid yells and begins attacking the training robots.
At the living room of a normal-sized home…
"What do you mean 'You're leaving the team?!'" a girl, who has (not long not short) blonde hair and an orange bandana and probably around sixteen, yells.
"Even I want to know why you would want to leave the Anti-Kyokugenryu Team! Eiji, did we not make a pact to take down the Kyokugenryu dojo?!" a seventeen-year-old girl with long bluish-black hair tied to a ponytail asks.
"I am sorry, but my current mission is on hold. I have been ordered by a superior to join a team that he has organized," Eiji, a ninja with brown hair and a face mask explains. "I do not know who my teammates will be, but he has ordered me."
"…But who can we get to replace you?!" the blonde girl asks.
"Malin, don't say 'replace.' That sounds a little insulting," the bluish-black haired girl scolds the blonde girl.
"Kasumi-chan, Eiji is a precious friend, an important member of the team, and a valuable and irreplaceable member of the 'We-Hate-Kyokugenryu' Club!" Malin yells in a somewhat whining way.
"Orders are orders," Eiji explains. "I may not have any honor for being a ninja, but I must obey my superiors and the one who pays me!"
After having said that, Eiji disappears in a puff of smoke.
Malin and Kasumi cough a bit then recompose themselves.
"Damn…you, Eiji!" Malin coughs out.
"Well, let's…go look for another member," Kasumi coughs out, as well.
"Harima-sama. Harima-sama…" a familiar voice calls.
"Eh!" Akira gets up from bed and sees that he is in his new room, which looks as if it were a hotel room. He also sees Megumi, another maid who has long red hair tied into pigtails and kind, cute blue eyes.
"Harima-sama, it is 8:32. If you keep sitting there, you will miss breakfast and your training with Bernstein-sama," Megumi explains.
"…You're worse than that alarm clock I got for my fifteenth birthday!" As Akira gets out of bed, he sarcastically says, "Thanks…"
"Harima-sama, will you still need me as a guide through the Sky Noah?"
"Um…Megumi-chan, we've been through this before. I don't like being called 'Harima-sama.' 'Harima-san' is okay. Even a simple 'Akira-kun' would be fine with me!"
Megumi turns around and explains, "It would not be right for a servant to call her master's friend that way…So do you still need a guide, Harima-sama?"
"I…um…I'll call you if I…need you, until then…just do…whatever you normally do." Akira answers shyly.
"Yes, Harima-sama," Megumi answers then leaves.
"She never listens to me!...So what was that? The voice of that shadow seemed vaguely familiar…" Akira thinks then looks at the bathroom door. "Bath, huh?" Akira says to himself and heads to the bathroom.
"Grosse Kreis!" Adelheid performs a circular slashing kick against several training robots that have tried to lunge at him.
The robots that were hit by the attack are sent upward and crash down at a distance from Adelheid. Other robots shoot out electrical balls of energy at Adelheid.
"Grosse Wand!" Adelheid creates a white barrier of energy from his hand.
The electrical shots reflect back to the robots, after having made contact with the barrier of energy, and completely take out some of the affected robots. Unaffected robots back up then slide on the ground with a slashing kick towards Adelheid.
"Grosse Sklaven!" Adelheid runs toward the attackers, extends both his arms backwards, grabs two robots, jumps, and slams them to the ground.
The two robots explode after being critically slammed into the ground.
"I can't lose here…" Adelheid comments to himself.
At the living room, Malin scans through her cell phone's phonebook to find someone to replace Eiji. Sitting at the dining table in the kitchen, Kasumi, however, is drinking green tea.
"This stinks!" Malin yells out of the blue.
"Patience, Malin. Eventually, something good will happen!" Kasumi answers from the kitchen.
"But we need to get a new teammate; in case, another King of Fighters tournament is promoted!"
"Maybe we should get some fresh air…"
Malin opens a window and gestures Kasumi to look at it.
"…Let me try again. Maybe we should go for a walk…" Kasumi stands up.
"A walk won't help!"
"Malin, just get a few things. We're going to have a walk through the park."
Malin sighs and stuffs two sandwiches, two bottles of water, and two books into her bag.
Kasumi pours some green tea into a thermos and takes the thermos with her.
"Let's go…" Malin says in an annoyed manner as they leave.
"Nice…" Akira says to himself as he peers into the endless hallways. "Which way is it to the dining area?!"
"So, you still need my help?" a voice says behind him.
"WAA!!!" Akira jumps forward and turns to see that it was just Megumi.
"This way," Megumi titters and walks away.
"Ah! Ma-mattekudasai, Megumi-chan!" Akira yells as he follows Megumi.
"Please hurry, Harima-sama!" Megumi turns and says in a cute way.
"Huh?" Akira glances into Megumi's eyes.
She realizes what she has done and quickly turns back then answers, "Excuse me. Please hurry, Harima-sama…"
"Aa, I am!" Akira yells out in an angry, yet restrained voice.
Megumi tries to ignore him and continues walking to guide Akira to the dining area.
"…So, it has been five days since we moved in, huh?" Akira whispers to himself. "In just five days, so many things have happened!"
"Kreis!" Adelheid slides forward with a slashing kick.
Some robots trip from the attack.
Before the robots could fall, Adelheid hops and knees one robot. "Grosse Kreis!" He performs another circular slashing kick.
The affected robots instantly explode from the kick.
"Gah!" Adelheid is sent to the wall due to the explosion and crashes against it.
The robots stalk the cornered Adelheid.
"It's impossible!" Adelheid gets up and runs into the group of robots.
Malin and Kasumi sit on the grass of the park to cool off some stress, after Eiji's resigning from the Anti-Kyokugenryu team. It was going well, until…
"…Damn that Eiji!" Malin yells out for the forty-seventh time (not an exaggeration).
"Must you constantly do that?! Every time you ease up for a bit, you instantly yell that out!" in a voice louder than Malin's, Kasumi scolds Malin.
"Kasumi! Why aren't you pissed?!"
"I am, but I am handling this matter in a restraint and mature way!"
Malin fills her cheeks with air and glares at Kasumi, until Malin's stomach growls. "Oops! That was embarrassing!"
"I'm feeling a little hungry myself! May I have one of those sandwiches you have packed in your bag?"
In an un-amused way, Malin stares at Kasumi.
"Well?"
"No, since you just finished drinking your body weight in green tea!"
"HEY!"
"I'm just kidding! Here," Malin laughs and hands Kasumi a sandwich.
Megumi and Akira pass by a bust of Adelheid.
"Hey! Isn't this where…" Akira begins to reminiscence.
"Adel-san, I have an idea!" Akira shouts to Adelheid.
"What is it?" Adelheid asks.
"I believe we should add a few more rooms to the Sky Noah, while we're waiting for the fuel!"
"Remodel…the Sky Noah?"
"Of course!"
"I have nothing to do with this!" Ayumi whispers to Adelheid.
"We could add a cafè, a library, a theater, a…" Akira continues jabbering about random things to add to the Sky Noah.
"…I am in no way really related to him!" Ayumi whispers to Adelheid.
"I thought you two were siblings," Adelheid whispers back.
"Well…, we don't have the same last names, now, do we?"
"...A pool table, a ping-pong table, a tennis court…" Akira still continues jabbering a lot of nonsense.
"…Well…, I'm gonna go spend some time with Rose-chan. Have fun with my brother!" Ayumi informs Adelheid and leaves, but not before realizing her mistake, "…Oops!"
Adelheid quickly turns to Ayumi and yells in a whisper (weird, huh?), "What was that?!"
"Oh! Look! Rose-chan is calling me!" Ayumi slowly sidesteps away from Adelheid and makes a run for it.
"…Andrews-san!" Adelheid yells in his mind and turns back to Akira, who somehow has not noticed that Adelheid and Ayumi had been trying to ignore him.
Akira continues until, "…A parking area—"
Adelheid interrupts, "I understand some of the things we may add to the Sky Noah, but why must we add a parking area?"
"To park cars!"
Adelheid looks at Akira with a shocked stare and continues, "That is not what I meant."
"A parking area, huh? That reminds me! We should also put in a water park with the swimming pool!" Akira points upwards.
"Konprinz! Konprinz! Konprinz!" Adelheid shoots Kinship Fire after Kinship Fire against ever robot.
One of the robots uses a reflector and reflects the attack back at Adelheid.
Adelheid tries to block it but is kicked from behind by a robot. As a result, he takes the full damage of his attack. "Quite the blunder…" Adelheid comments as he gets up.
Other robots shoot more white balls of energy and ground level shots of energy at the weakened Adelheid.
"It's useless…Grosse Wand!" Adelheid uses his barrier once again to reflect the attacks of the robots.
More robots appear and use reflectors at the reflected attacks.
Adelheid blocks again but is pushed back to a wall. "…Tough"
Still at the park and under a tree, Kasumi sleeps, and Malin contemplates on who should be recruited into the Anti-Kyokugenryu Team.
"…This is so hard!" Malin yells out but quickly covers her mouth, since she remembers the sleeping Kasumi. Malin sighs, "But who can join us? Eiji is the only other person here that obsessively talks about destroying the Kyokugenryu dojo…and specifically that Yuri!" After a brief pause, she yells silently, "That damned Eiji! Heh! Kasumi can't get mad at me, since I've only said that once today! Heh heheh…" After that, she lies down and snickers a bit.
"Ara? Malin-chan?" a voice near from behind the tree asks.
Malin gets up and looks behind the tree and finds a girl with long blonde and brown eyes (and two bodyguards near her). "Hinako-chan!"
"Malin-chan, what were you laughing about?" Hinako asks.
"Oh, nothing important! How have you been?"
"I have been very well. How is Kasumi?"
Malin points at the innocently sleeping Kasumi.
"She seems to be well."
Malin gives a "beats me" shrug and says, "She's just very 'mature'!"
"Hm…what of Kisaragi-san?"
Something snapped inside Malin, causing her to scream out, "THAT DAMNED EIJI!!!"
"I am guessing that something unfortunate has happened…"
"HELL YES! The guy went and left our team! Total abandonment!"
"Did you…have to scream that out to the world?!" Kasumi groggily gets up.
"YES!"
"Konnichiwa, Hinako, (Good afternoon, Hinako.)" Kasumi greets Hinako.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Kasumi-san! (Good morning, Kasumi-san!)" Hinako jokes to Kasumi.
"I have to get a new member to join the group! Otherwise…" Malin contemplates aloud.
"Hinako, are you busy from now to the next four months?" Kasumi asks.
"Why, no! Why do you ask?" Hinako replies.
"Hinako, would you like to join the our team?" Kasumi offers.
"Why, I would love to!" Hinako accepts then sees Malin pacing quite a bit. "Malin-chan?"
"What?!" Malin yells. Apparently, she is oblivious to the fact that she had just yelled at her new teammate.
"Hinako has decided to join our team!" Kasumi explains.
"What?! Really?!" Malin is overjoyed and jumps behind Hinako to hug her.
"Someone is trying to assault Shijou-sama!" a bodyguard yells.
"Code Yellow! Code Yellow!" the other bodyguard responds.
"Wha?" Malin cluelessly asks as the two bodyguards grab her after prying her off Hinako.
"Oh! It is all right! She is one of my closest friends!" Hinako explains to her bodyguards.
"Understood! Our deepest apologies, Shijou-sama!" the bodyguards not-so-gently drop Malin.
Malin gets up and prepares to take out a knife, "Ow! Bast—"
"It is all right, Malin. They were just thinking of my safety!" Hinako explains.
"Why the hell would you need protection?! You are perfectly safe on your own with that sumo of yours!" Malin snaps back.
"So…, um, I've been curious…How long have you been working for Adel-san?" Akira asks Megumi as they continue to make their way to the dining area.
"Not long enough…Er, about two years…when I was fifteen," Megumi explains.
"When you were…fifteen? Ah, how did you get here anyway?"
"Bernstein-sama basically hires anyone looking for a job. I, however, was kidnapped and was forced to work for 'The Organization'." Megumi pauses then continues, "He saved me by defeating 'The Organization' and absorbing it into his businesses." Megumi blushes slightly.
"So, she must owe Adel-san everything…" Akira wonders as they continue walking. "I remember when he decided to help me fight better. Even though I was a bad student, he never gave up on me. So, I owe him, as well…"
At the training room, Adelheid teaches Akira some of his moves. Adelheid stands beside Akira to try to ensure that neither of them would get injured during the training.
"The White Barrier can only be performed with a hardened stance," Adelheid explains beside Akira.
"Hai!" Akira does what Adelheid says.
"Now, focus your energy into your right hand," Adelheid continues.
"Hai!" Akira begins to focus some energy into his right hand.
"Now, lean forward and create the White Barrier. Grosse Wand!" Adelheid creates a white-gray barrier from his hand.
"Hai! White Barrier!" Akira tries to attempt it but leans too much and…
"KKOOO!!!" a wall is critically dented from his attack.
"Huh?! I'm sorry, Adel-san!" Akira bows to Adelheid.
"Try to lean only slightly. If you lean too far forward, the rampart energy will result in a random projectile."
"H-hai!"
"Now, try again."
"Mmm……White Barrier!" Akira's attempt results in a very small red barrier.
"…Try again, and don't be afraid…"
"H-hai! Yoo……White Barrier!" Akira forms a black-red barrier about the size of Adelheid's barrier.
"Good…Now, we shall move on."
"…Why was my barrier red and black?"
"The Kaiser Bolt requires you to spread your arms out. When seen from behind or in front, your enemy will see a cross," Adelheid does what he says.
"Ah, hai!" Akira follows.
"Now, gather all your energy into your hands," as Adelheid explains this, his hands glow white and gray.
"Hai!" he gathers energy, and his hands glow red and black.
"…Strange…" Adelheid thinks after having seen Akira's glowing hands. "Now, pull your arms further back."
"H-hai!" Akira tries to pull back as much as he can.
"Now hold that position."
"K-k-hai! I think my arms are going to break off!"
"Now, bend forward, quickly swing your arms forward, and bend back! Grosse Konprinz!" Adelheid shoots a huge wave of energy.
"H-hai!" Akira tries to do so, but…
"Harima-san, are you okay?" Adelheid says as he sees that Akira has fallen face-first to the floor.
"I…think I pulled a muscle while I was trying to bend my arms back…" Akira explains with a muffled voice.
"…That is all for the day then," Adelheid pulls Akira to his feet.
Akira has his right hand squeeze his left shoulder, "There goes my left arm…"
"Hurry up! Andrews-san told us that she would be preparing dinner. It would be rude to be late!" Adelheid says as he exits the room.
"Ah, matte!" Akira runs after Adelheid.
"Alright!" Malin runs through the park.
"She seems to be recovering well!" Hinako comments to Kasumi.
"Because we have a full team now!" Kasumi explains.
"Where is she going?"
"Huh?" Kasumi looks and sees Malin buying ice cream from the ice cream man.
"Quite cute!" Hinako titters.
"Selfishness is what that is!" Kasumi giggles.
"Oh! Look! Here she comes now!"
"Here you go!" Malin gives each of them a popsicle.
"Thank you, Malin-chan!" Hinako accepts.
"You're not that selfish, after all!" Kasumi takes one.
Malin proceeds to lick her popsicle until she notices the way her friends were eating their popsicles. She smirks and says, "Guys, Malin-chan just remembered a joke!"
"What is it?" Hinako asks as she takes a bite of her popsicle.
Malin begins, "Here's how it goes: a teacher asks her students, 'If there are five birds perching on a fence and one was shot down by a gun, how many are left?'"
"Four," Kasumi says then continues eating her ice cream.
"A student answers, 'None, because the rest would fly away!'"
"True!" Hinako comments to Malin.
"The teacher replies, 'Well, the answer is four, but I like the way you think!'"
"Interesting…what's the joke?" Kasumi asks.
"I'm getting there. Another student asks the teacher, 'I have a question for you ma'am! There are three women in the ice cream shop. One was licking her ice cream. Another was biting her cone. The third one was sucking hers. Which one is married?'"
"I don't see the relation…" Hinako says.
"The teacher answers, 'I guess, the one sucking her ice cream.'"
"Weird…" Kasumi comments to the joke.
Malin snickers then continues, "The student replies, 'No, the one with the wedding ring on her finger, but I like the way you think!'"
"That was funny, though slightly perverted," Hinako replies.
"Guys, look at the people in front of you!" Malin grins.
Hinako and Kasumi notice that Malin is licking her popsicle, Hinako is biting hers, and Kasumi is—
Kasumi quickly takes her popsicle out of her mouth and explodes, "MALIN! THAT IS NOT FUNNY, AND I'M NOT MARRIED!"
"AHAHAHAHA!" Malin could barely contain her laughter.
All the robots return to their compartments, leaving Adelheid with bruises and cuts.
"Sir, are you alright?" Reno calls from the speakers.
"Why? Why did you stop them?" Adelheid kneels.
"Sir, if we had continued, you may have died…"
"…I…have lost…"
"Sir, is there something wrong?"
"I am fine!" Adelheid snaps back, as he limps to the door.
"Sir, you should go to the infirmary to get those wounds treated!"
"I shall be fine in my quarters!" Adelheid leaves the room and heads to his room.
"Bernstein-sama…"
Megumi and Akira finally reach the dining area.
"Sweet! I thought that we would die from having to wander around the Sky Noah all day!" Akira sighs and runs to his seat.
"Good luck, A— Harima-sama," Megumi leaves Akira with the other masters.
"Good morning, Akira-san," Rose smiles.
"Ah! Ohayou, Akira-kun!" Ayumi greets.
"Hah!" Akira pauses for a while, as if her were expecting someone else to greet. "…Adel-san?" Akira turns to find that Adelheid is not at the head of the table, or at the dining area for that matter.
"Um, Akira-kun, Adel-san said that he would be having his breakfast in his room," Ayumi explains.
"Huh? Why?"
"Onii-sama is recovering from having been defeated by a bunch of training robots!" Rose crosses her arms and lifts her chin up. "Honestly, to be defeated by a bunch of nuts and bolts is just—!"
"…What kind of sister are you?" Akira glares at Rose. "So…he's beating himself up for that?"
"He may plan to do something drastic," Ayumi explains.
"Like what? Commit suicide?" Akira says sarcastically.
"He would commit suicide?!?" Rose does not see the sarcasm.
"What?!" Akira does not see that Rose was asking.
"This would be a bad thing!" not seeing Akira's being sarcastic and Rose's asking a question, Ayumi yells.
"What will we do?!" Rose actually loses her cool.
"I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" Ayumi repeats over and over.
"…I got it!" Akira yells spontaneously.
"What is it!?" Rose and Ayumi yell in unison.
"Let's make tonight's dinner be a celebrative banquet to raise his spirits!" Akira suggests.
"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" Rose snaps at Akira.
"…Let's do it!" Ayumi bursts out.
"Ayumi-nee-san, you must be joking!" Rose says in disbelief.
"Nee-san, you and Rose-chan rally up help from all hands. I will go buy sweets, spicy foods, and any other thing that I can think of! Rose-chan, may I borrow your credit card?" Akira says somewhat quickly.
"Here…" Rose hands Akira her credit card.
"Ikumasho! Boku! (Go! Me!)" Akira swipes Roses credit card and dashes away.
"Oh!" Rose blurts out.
"What's wrong?!" Ayumi asks in concern.
"I just remembered that we have almost all kinds of food with us in the galley!" Rose explains.
"…So…what you're telling me is…"
"He left on a pointless mission…"
"Nani sore?! (What the?!)"
Malin and company walk around the urban area of Angens.
"Let's go eat somewhere! It's already like 10:00, right?" Malin says out of the blue.
"What your telling me is…we took Hinako's limo here just to eat?!" Kasumi explodes.
"Of course not!" Malin pauses for about a minute. "Of course not! I'm going to go look for…for…"
Kasumi face read: "If you have a bad reason, I'm going to kill you!"
"…for…Ah! For someone to treat us to lunch!" Malin managed to get out.
Kasumi takes a kendo stick from out of nowhere and yells, "TIME TO DIE!"
"Kasumi, I thought you are an aikido expert, not a kendo expert!" Hinako quickly gets between a scared Malin and a demonic Kasumi.
"…I don't think a wooden knife is strong enough to hurt someone that much!" Kasumi replies with immeasurable wrath.
"But come now, it would be inappropriate for someone like you to be using a kendo stick! It makes you look…not so slim," Hinako adds.
Malin stares at the two then notices that Hinako is trying to be a distraction for Malin to escape. "Sankyu, Hinako-chan! (Thanks, Hinako-chan)" Malin says as she slips away.
"Well, if that's the case…" Malin hears Kasumi's furious voice fade away.
"Well! I'm really lucky today!" Malin chuckles. "Now, where would be the best place to hide?" Malin looks around. "Oh! A 'restaurant' street?! Wow!" Malin runs to the street.
Outside the "restaurant" street of Angens, Akira can be seen carrying many bags and packages, enough of them to block his vision.
"Well, this is everything I need!" Akira gleefully tells himself. "…I think."
After about twenty seconds of walking, Akira realizes, "I forgot to find people to invite! The banquet will be tonight, and I forgot to assign someone to invite more people to the banquet! Only inviting all the hands of the ship would be monotonous! Adel-san knows all of them! I need to invite someone he—"
"I don't know where to eat!" Malin says to herself as she walks backwards to view the restaurants.
"Maybe, I should invite the first person I meet!" Akira continues to walk aimlessly. "That is idiotically stupid! I need to know the person before I can invite the person!"
"Hmm…I wonder if I can find someone to mooch off of," Malin continues walking backwards and quickly notices Kasumi sprinting towards her with a bloody intent. Malin turns around to run, "Oh, sh— OW!!!"
"WAA!!! It's falling!" Akira yells as the packages are about to fall out of balance.
MARK OF THE GENOCIDER 2
"Hold on!" Malin pushes sum of the packages to stop them from falling. "You okay?"
"Arigatou gozaimasu! (Thank you!)" Akira manages to say. "However…, I can't move…"
Malin sees that the positioning of the packages is so unstable, that the slightest movement could make them fall. "Maybe…WAAH!"
"You should be saying your prayers!" Kasumi grabs Malin's shoulder.
"A-a-a-a-a-a—" Malin could not utter a single word out.
"Ojou-san, could you please grab a few packages for me!" Akira asks, oblivious to what is happening.
"I-uh…" something clicks in Malin's mind. "Sure!" She casually takes Kasumi's hand off her right shoulder and proceeds to help Akira.
"What's going on?" Kasumi asks in a curious and confused tone.
"I made it!" Hinako pants and tries to catch her breath. Apparently, she has been running after Kasumi to make sure she does not get Malin hurt.
"I'm helping this guy with his stuff!" Malin pats the stack of packages, which, as a result, begins to fall.
"Ojou-san! (Miss!)" Akira yelps.
"WA! I got it!" Malin says as she catches the falling packages. "See!"
"Um, thanks for helping!" Akira thanks her, although he has no idea what she looks like.
"No problem!" Malin responds.
"Um…as a…token of my gratitude, may I treat you to lunch?" Akira says shyly.
Kasumi's jaw drops, and Hinako sighs in relief.
"Wow! Really!" Malin's eyes sparkles.
"Yes. By the way, I should introduce myself," Akira lays the packages on the ground. "Boku no namae wa Harima Akira desu. Yoroshiku onegashimasu! (My name is Harima Akira. It's a pleasure to meet you!)"
Malin does the same. "Malin-chan. Yoroshiku ne, Akira-kun! (Nice ta meet'cha, Akira-kun!)" Malin greets back.
"WA-WA-WA! Ka-ka-kawaii onna no ko! Ojisuke! Okisuke! Ojisuke! (C-c-cute girl! Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!) Think of something to reply before she thinks you are some insane lunatic!" Akira yells in his mind.
She then points to her two friends. "The one with a big mouth is Todoh Kasumi-chan. The one who looks like she's about to pass out is Shijou Hinako-chan!"
"Yo.ro.shi.ku.o.ne.ga.shi.ma.su, (Nice.to.meet.you)" Hinako manages to pant out.
"Yoroshiku, (It's a pleasure)" Kasumi greets, after having recomposed herself.
"So…So…So…" Akira seems to have the ability to say only one word.
Malin turns to talk to her friends.
At that instant, Akira slaps himself and manages to be able to talk almost normally. "So, where may we go eat, Malin-san?"
Malin points towards Akira.
Akira turns around and asks, "McDonald's?"
"Yep! It's okay, right?" Malin smirks at Akira.
"WA!" Akira jumps back. "YES, IT IS!" Akira quickly takes some of the packages and bags then rushes inside the restaurant. Amazingly, the content of the bags do not fall out.
"What an interesting person!" Hinako finally stops panting and comments.
"Free food, here I come!" Malin takes some of the packages and bags then hurries inside.
"I'll take the rest," Kasumi takes the remaining package.
"Let's go, Kasumi," Hinako smiles, as they both enter the building.
Once inside, the two find Malin sitting at a table and texting on her cellphone, and Akira in line. Hinako and Kasumi proceed to the table.
"So, what did you order?" Kasumi asks as she takes her seat.
"I'm not done ordering yet!" Malin continues texting.
"May I ask who you are texting?" Hinako asks as she takes her seat beside Malin.
"I'm texting Akira-kun! He gave me his number so I don't have to go order myself. It's less of a hassle anyway, right?" Malin explains as she continues texting.
"In that case, please tell him to get me a hamburger, a large Coke, large fries, a chocolate sundae, and a salad," Hinako cheerfully asks.
"Hai! (Okay!)" Malin texts quickly then asks, "Kasumi, what do you want?"
"Uh, spaghetti, large fries, large Pepsi, and a McFlurry," Kasumi quickly answers.
"Can't you guys take more advantage from Akira-kun?!" Malin yells at the two.
"Why? How much have you ordered?" Kasumi asks and looks at the screen of Malin's cellphone. "YOU'RE JOKING!"
"What is it?" Hinako does the same, then asks in shock, "Would not that be cruel?"
"I say, 'Break out and don't hold back!' right?" Malin winks at the two.
"You're not seriously going to ask him to order all that, are you?" Kasumi asks in her semi-shocked state.
"It's alright! He won't mind!" Malin assures her then grins evilly. "If he does get mad, I'll give him such an ass-whooping! If he doesn't…I think he's nice…"
"You think he's nice?" Hinako asks.
"Whoa! I said that?" Malin says in shock.
"Yes…" Hinako answers.
"…SEND!" Malin sends her order to Akira after a not-so-brief pause.
"Huh? Maybe it's Malin-san's order!" Akira thinks as he takes his cellphone out.
Upon looking at the order, he sighs and smiles, "It's a good thing she didn't order more than this!"
Akira goes to the counter and tells the cashier the order.
"Huh?" Malin looks shocked from having seen Akira's expression.
"So, he's not shocked…" Kasumi comments. "Now, this guy seems suspicious…"
"…But Malin-chan seems to be!" Hinako finishes for Kasumi then titters. "What a nice person!"
"What is wrong with this guy?!" Malin yells in her mind. "An order that huge should make a guy turn into a volcano and erupt! Right? RIGHT?!"
"Malin, are you sure it is safe to be around this guy?" Kasumi asks in concern.
"I think he is quite sweet. He is kind of like a guy who would do anything for a girl he— Oh, my…" Hinako realizes.
"You think he likes me?!" Malin blurts out. As a result, almost every customer, guard, employee, and manager stares at her. Malin quickly covers her mouth with her hands.
"Probably, what else could it be?" Hinako continues.
"He must be some sort of pedophile!" Kasumi comments.
"I'm sixteen, and he is…" Malin tries to analyze.
Kasumi looks at Akira, who seems to be in a cheerful mood, "He appears to be seventeen, but he must believe that Malin is younger than she actually is."
"What do we do?!" Malin asks.
"For the time being, let's just observe him," Hinako suggests.
"If he does anything even remotely suspicious or suggestive, I will break his skull with my kendo stick!" Kasumi threatens the person who is not even within audible range of Kasumi's voice.
"I am SO nervous!" Akira thinks as he takes two trays to the table. "Okay, Akira, just pray, play cool, and be cheerful!" Akira thinks despite the fact that his heart is pounding faster than the speed of light.
"Uh, thanks…" Malin nervously says as Akira lays the trays on the table.
"Stay calm…um…What's my NAME?!?" Akira panics as he returns to the counter for two more trays, "Oh, crud! I forgot my name! Okay, calm down…my name is…Akira! Right!"
"Think he likes me?" Malin asks once Akira has his back turned then takes a sip of her Pepsi.
"Pedophile…" Kasumi glares at Akira.
"Hard to say," Hinako answers, "He appeared to be smiling, but it seems as though he was about to faint from nervousness."
"So, the pedophile likes her…" Kasumi says with flaming eyes of wrath.
"There is a possibility that he is not used to being around women…" Hinako explains then takes a few fries to her mouth.
"What kind of guy is that?!" Malin yells.
"The shy type," Hinako continues, "He would probably faint if he were to shake hands with someone who he thinks is cute."
"That makes him worse!" Kasumi states with holy wrath.
"Now, I feel flattered, since he thinks I'm cute!" Malin tries to smile.
"Here you go…" Akira lays two more trays on the table then oddly sidesteps away.
"But he's still a weird guy," Malin comments after watching Akira sidestepping away.
"Maybe, you hear him out," Hinako suggests, "…in addition to observing him."
"And I will bash him, if he does do something suspicious!" Kasumi adds.
"Last one! Malin-san, Kasumi-san, Hinako-san," Akira manages to make a smile, lays the remaining trays on the table, and takes his seat across from Malin.
"Sankyu! (Thanks!)" Malin says in a cheerful voice. "I'll act normally so Hinako can correctly observe him!"
"Arigatou gozaimasu, (Thank you.)" Hinako says politely. "I know that Malin-chan will act normally, but the question is: 'Will Harima-san act normally?'"
Kasumi glares at Akira. "Try anything, and I'll kill you!"
Akira proceeds to take some fries, but Malin grabs the fries he is about to take. "Oi!"
Malin stuffs the fries into her mouth.
"Wa— Those…were…mine…" Akira shyly reacts.
"Huh? What's Malin-chan doing?" Hinako asks herself.
"You want…them back?" Malin asks in-between chews.
"…No, thanks…" Akira answers and tries to get more fries.
"Sankyu! (Thanks!)" Malin grabs the fries Akira was about to take, again.
"Can't you…get your own fries?" Akira asks.
"I am! In this world, if you take too long to enjoy something, it will be taken away by birds!" Malin proudly states.
"Malin-chan, I think it is 'taken away as the birds.'" Hinako corrects Malin.
"Wrong. It is 'taken away from the birds.'" Kasumi corrects the two.
"Wrong, it's 'taken away as if by the birds.'" Akira corrects all three of them.
Kasumi gives a I-hate-smart-alecks-and-will-kill-them glare to Akira.
Akira quickly turns to Malin, in hopes that she could stop Kasumi. Instead, he sees Malin taking more of his food. "You've got to be kidding me!"
"This seems quite interesting now!" Hinako titters. "From the looks of it he trusts Malin-chan the most!"
"Malin-san…" Akira manages to say.
"Hai! (Yes?)" Malin answers as she eats. "He's going to explode now! I'm sure of it!"
"…Why…" Akira opens his mouth then pauses.
"Nani? (What?)" Malin asks in a cute way.
"…Sorry for being selfish, but…why do you take the food that I ordered for me?" Akira manages to ask.
"Why am I doing this?" Malin instantly realizes, "…Um, because this is a competition now! Survival of the fittest!…Worst line ever!"
"Sou desu ka, (...Really?)" Akira replies, then proceeds to unwrap a hamburger.
Malin tries to swipe it, "Malin-chan no— (Malin-chan's—)"
"Dame da! (No way!)" Akira drops the hamburger, then grabs both of Malin's hand.
For a brief moment, the two look into each others eyes and do nothing else.
"Etto… (Ah…)" Akira somehow says.
"Ano… (Um…)" Malin follows.
"HENTAI! (PERVERT!)" Kasumi takes out her kendo stick and bashes Akira's head.
"Ara! (Oh, my!)" Akira releases Malin's hands and falls off his seat.
"Kasumi-chan! That's overdoing it! Akira-kun could die from that!" Hinako blurts out as she gets up to check Akira.
"Ano… (Um…)" Malin is still oblivious to the world around her.
"Harima-san, daijoubu? (Harima-san, are you alright?)" Hinako observes Akira's semi-lifeless body. "Kasumi-chan! What have you done?!"
"Uh…I'm sorry?" Kasumi conceals her kendo stick somewhere.
Malin blinks and realizes that Akira has fallen off his seat, "Akira-kun!"
"HAI! (YES?)" Akira gets up and rubs his head. "Itetetete… (Oww…)"
"Harima-san!" Hinako gasps from seeing Akira get up so quickly after being hit in the head with a kendo stick.
"Kasumi-san, that was uncalled for!" Akira gets back to his seat and continues massaging his head.
"Gomen… (Sorry…)" Kasumi sarcastically apologizes with a pout.
"Ii desu. Boku wa— ITE— daijoubu… (It's okay. I am— OW!— alright…)" Akira replies, although he is somewhat dazed.
"Maybe we should call this lunch off!" Malin suggests.
"Eh? Doushite? (Huh? Why?)" Akira asks.
"I won't be held responsible for any injuries you attain from Kasumi-chan anymore."
"It's okay. Besides—" Akira answers then quickly realizes, "I need to bring some guests to the banquet! Hmm…Malin-san seems interesting enough for me to invite. Hinako-san seems to be eccentric, so I should invite her. Kasumi, however, seems paranoid, but I think I should invite her…"
"So…I think you should—" Malin continues to explain, although Akira has not heard a single thing Malin has said while he was deep in thought.
"I have an idea!" Akira spontaneously says.
"Huh?" Malin makes a clueless expression.
"Do you guys want to go to a mini-banquet with me tonight? Or rather, I'm kinda helping in preparing it," Akira asks in a somewhat confident way.
Malin, Kasumi, and Hinako all stare at him.
"…Did Kasumi-chan hit you in the head too hard?" Malin asks out of concern, "Because I think she may have given you a concussion…"
"Maybe, but I think it helped! I just remembered that I had to invite someone to the banquet!" Akira smiles. "So, can you come?"
Malin looks at her two friends to see if she should.
Hinako appears to say, "Go ahead."
Kasumi, however, appears to say, "HELL NO!"
Malin turns back to Akira and answers, "Um…sure…"
"Hontou no hontou ni arigatou gozaimasu! (Thank you very very much!)" Akira shakes both of Malin's hands. Two seconds later, he comes to his senses and realizes that he is shaking Malin's hands… "WAA! Gomen! Hontou no hontou ni gomenasai! (Sorry! I'm really really sorry!)" Akira apologizesand bows as he releases her hands.
"So, where will we meet?" Malin asks after watching Akira apologize for about five minutes.
"Ah, maybe here…at, um, 5:00 PM. Um, w-wear something formal…" Akira answers without making any eye contact to any of the three.
"Okay! It's a date!" Malin accepts the scheduled time.
"Wha?" Akira stands there. "I think my heart just skipped aboyt three beats…"
"Okay! We'll go back to Southtown and come back here as fast as we can!" Malin says cheerfully.
"What do you mean 'we'?" Kasumi asks snobbishly.
"Um, Malin-chan, Kasumi-chan, Harima-san," Hinako asks for the others' attention, "what about the remaining food?"
The three look at the table and see about $120 worth of fastfood left on it.
"Uh, you may take that…" Akira suggests, "I still have to bring all of the packages back home."
"Okay!" Malin cutely complies and dashes to the counter.
Hinako quickly sends a message from her cellphone, then asks Akira, "Harima-san, may I ask what the event for the banquet is?"
"Huh? Oh, it's to cheer a friend of mine up," Akira replies.
"You must be very loyal to your friend!"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Okay! I have all of the food!" Malin announces.
"So…Malin-san, will you be alright?" Akira asks. "Why did I ask that?"
"Of course!" Malin replies, then turns to Hinako. "Hinako-chan, ikimasu! (Hinako-chan, let's go!)"
"Ee," Hinako replies, "We shall see each other again later, Harima-san!"
"Ja ne, Akira-kun! (Later, Akira-kun!)" Malin greets. "Oh! And call me 'Malin-chan'! OK?"
"J-ja ne, Malin-sa—chan, (L-later, Malin-sa—chan.)" Akira greets back.
As Kasumi passes by Akira, she leers at Akira. Akira has a feeling that she is thinking, "I don't trust you now, and I never will!"
"Kowaii! (Scary!)" Akira comments to himself.
He watches the three leave. As he turns to take some of the packages and bags, he sees a note sticking on one of them. "Nani kore? (What's this?)"
He reads the note. It reads:
"Akira-kun, thanks for treating us!
I'm sure you'll be a fun person to be around!
Don't disappoint me!
—Malin-chan"
Akira blushes a little and turns to find Malin and the others are gone. "…Malin-chan…"
At the computer lab of Angen's Middle School.
"You're sure you're okay now?" Mick asks Aisha.
Aisha has a headband but it is actually some medical tape wrapped around her forehead. "Yeah! I'm fine!"
"Well, let's look for another funny interview..." Mick says as he scans through the files on his flashdisk.
"Can't you guys think of something more interesting to do than humiliate me?!" Kia yells off-screen. Apparently, she is the one handling the camera.
"How's about this one?" Mick double-clicks a file entitled "Andrews Ayumi."
"I hate you!" Kia yells. While that is happening, the screen shakes violently.
"So, Andrews-sempai, how are you today?" Kia asks Ayumi, who is seated on a couch.
"Fine, but why is my seat a couch and Akira-kun's was a stool?" Ayumi asks curiously.
"Uh...whatever do you mean, Ayumi-sempai?" Kia asks as a visible bead of sweat flows by her cheek and drops from her chin.
"I recalled Akira-kun telling me that you had him sit on a short stool."
"Oh...Well..." Kia pauses to thing of something reasonable to say. "Um...guys stit on stools, and girls may sit on the couch?"
"Hm...Okay!"
"Now then Ayumi-sensei, what is your full name?"
"Andrews Ayumi."
"What is your age?"
"Eighteen. I'll be turning nineteen tomorrow! By the way, do you wanna come to my birthday party tomorrow? It'll be loads of fun!"
"Of course! Oh...wait. Tomorow is August 12— a Monday, right?"
"Yep."
"Sure! There's no way I would miss your birthday party! So where is it gonna be?"
"At my house!"
"All right! Um...do you still have a fear of clowns?"
"...Yes," Ayumi whispers.
"Oh! That's a good question! Why are you afraid of clowns?"
"Well, um...I rather not talk about it..."
"Come on! Maybe I could help you conquer your fear!"
"...Fine. After Mom and I left Japan to live in America and when I was eleven, Dad— the one Mom married after the divorce— brought us to a carnival. I was having fun with all the games, until a clown showed up. He looked so strange. At first he seemed so funny, until he tripped and knocked his joke teeth out of his mouth. I fell back in response to his falling down near me, and his joke teeth landed on top of me. It was chomping and chomping at the air, and I just stared at it. I had thought that it would come too close and bite me! The clown got up and said 'Oops. Sorry, kid.' Then he grabbed his joke teeth. To everyone else it seemed quite comical, but I was scared beyond rational thought! I...After that and when my parents pulled me away from the area, I cried so much! My parents didn't understand why I was crying, until I announced to them that I am scared of clowns. They have tried every possible way to get me to like clowns, from making me watch clown cartoons to even hiring clowns to my twelfth birthday party! I, however, could not seem to forget that day at the carnival."
"That's it? I've heard of more traumatizing experiences than that! Well, don't you feel better now that you have talked about it?
"No..."
"Mm...Let's move on..."
"Please do!"
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to ask Akira-sempai when his birthday is. When is it?"
"December 20."
"WHAT! THAT CLOSE TO CHRISTMAS?!"
"Yep."
"So her gets presents twice, huh?"
"Well, yes, but he is kinda annoyed to get two gifts from one person in a period less than one week."
"So weird! If I were him, I would love to get a lot of presents shoved to my face!"
"If you say so."
"Oh, why does he seem to constantly be deep in thought?"
"No reason, I guess. If he were to reply quickly to what someone says, he might have to consider what he should say."
"One time while I was talking to him last year, he paused for so long that I was able to finish doing my homework!"
"It's possible to finish a book before he returns to the real world though!" Ayumi adds with a giggle.
"Probably! Moving on...What is your favorite food?"
"Um...Chicken soup, I guess." Ayumi shrugs.
"Chicken soup?" Kia raises an eyebrow.
"It's good for health and soul!"
"I think you've been eating instant coffee again..."
"Anything else?"
"Oh, yeah. Hobbies?"
"Shopping for random things, cooking, and playing with cats."
"Of course...I should have remembered. When you visited my place, you played with Sasha so much that we barely hung out!"
"Sorry about that!" Ayumi scratches her head.
"It's okay..."
"So...Do you still wear those pajamas with bunny prints?"
"WHAT?!"
"Do you or do you not? I'm just really curious."
"...Yes..."
"How cute!"
"Okay, enough questions about me! We should—"
"What about your cup size?"
"WHAAAAAT?!!!!"
"I'm just curious."
"Look here, Ayumi-sempai, I don't talk about things that personal if I am being captured on tape!"
"Oh. Okay, then..." Aumi lays bends her head forward and fakes a depressed expression.
"Do you have to make me feel guilty?!"
"What ever...do you mean?" Ayumi wipes non-existing tears from her eyes.
"...See you're doing it again!"
"I...don't know what you are talking about..." Ayumi covers her eyes.
"...Fine..." Kia says then mutters something after.
"What was that?"
"..." Kia mutters something again.
"Half B!" Kia finally yells out.
"Great! Now—"
"How's about we wrap up this interview before you exploit the rest of my sizes and my weight!"
"Sure!" Ayumi gets up and stretches, then turns to leave. "See you later, Kia-chan!"
"Evil..." Kia gets up and turns the camera off.
"Half B cup?" Mick looks towards the screen but slightly lower.
"Stop staring, perv!" Kia's hand can be seen slapping Mick's face.
"OW! That was not needed!" Mick snaps back.
"You deserve it for being perverted!"
"You shouldn't be that harsh, Kia-chan!" Aisha scolds Kia.
"Who asked you! I don't enjoy being stared at!"
"But you enjoy being in front of the camera?" Mick comments as he rubs his cheek.
"That's different!" Kia yells and the screen is elevated lower and looks at the direction opposite of where Kia and the others were arguing.
"How is that different?! It's embarrassing to be in front of the camera!"
"I guess that separates the stars from the cameramen!"
"Okay, star, how's about you for once try to be sane and not go around slapping people?"
"I am who I am, and that is how I am!"
"This is getting us nowhere! Give me the camera!"
"No way!" Kia yells. As that happens, the camera's elevation rises and points downward. Due to the positioning and angle, the camera looks straight at Kia's chest.
"Give it!"
"No!"
"Kia-chan, maybe we should turn it off now," Aisha suggests as she giggles, then yelps in pain from the previous accident.
"Whatever," Kia turns the camera off, and the screen turns black.
Chapter 2 End
I ran out of creative Easter eggs for this chapter. I couldn't seem to find one that matches the scenarios of this chapter.
Oh, well. Review, review, please!
Easter Eggs: Chicken Soup for the Soul
Update 1: This: I forgot to say that I am just assuming that Hinako's family is fabulously wealthy.